July 24, 1891 — HWI Chess Tournament, Hogsmeade Hall
Grace had lost her first match, but Ford and Verity had both won theirs — probably the results anyone would have predicted, to be honest. It wasn't that Grace wasn't good at chess, only that she wasn't especially good at being around people. This wasn't the best sort of venue to showcase Grace's skill and talent, pitting her against a stranger and letting half a dozen mildly interested audience members watch from a stone's throw away. Grace's first match had been against another one of those wealthy men who played Quidditch as a "career" (only people who didn't actually need careers and sports fanatics considered Quidditch a career). Combined with Ford's opponent for his first match, this implied the Venn diagram overlap between Quidditch players and chess aficionados was much larger than he might have previously suspected.
And now he was playing against Cash Lestrange, who might have further confirmed the theory except that in Ford's mind his friend didn't really fit the same mold as all the other Quidditch people. He had no trouble imagining Lestrange being pensive and thoughtful and intelligent, where it was hard to picture the average beater displaying the same qualities. In fact, if Lestrange hadn't been playing Quidditch almost as long as Ford had known him, Ford probably would have had a harder time believing that than believing he was good at chess. In any case, he was looking forward to the match, and was already grinning as he dropped into the seat across the board.
"I didn't know so many Quidditch people played chess," he began conversationally. Cash had the first move, so there was nothing for Ford to do except banter and wait for him to make it. "I was just playing against your... uh, patron?" he said with a slight tilt of his head, the word sponsor having slipped his mind for the moment.
And now he was playing against Cash Lestrange, who might have further confirmed the theory except that in Ford's mind his friend didn't really fit the same mold as all the other Quidditch people. He had no trouble imagining Lestrange being pensive and thoughtful and intelligent, where it was hard to picture the average beater displaying the same qualities. In fact, if Lestrange hadn't been playing Quidditch almost as long as Ford had known him, Ford probably would have had a harder time believing that than believing he was good at chess. In any case, he was looking forward to the match, and was already grinning as he dropped into the seat across the board.
"I didn't know so many Quidditch people played chess," he began conversationally. Cash had the first move, so there was nothing for Ford to do except banter and wait for him to make it. "I was just playing against your... uh, patron?" he said with a slight tilt of his head, the word sponsor having slipped his mind for the moment.
Set by Lady!